Assessing risk in preparation for a disaster recovery planBy Curtis Fease Anyone involved in facility management knows how difficult it can be to manage a building properly. From focusing on energy efficiency to meeting government regulations, the job can be extremely demanding. One of the most important parts of facility management, however, is also one of the most overlooked: A disaster recovery plan.

Production risk management issues are more complexSouthwest BoosterManaging risk has always been a part of agriculture. However, it is becoming more complex with production risk, marketing risk and financial risk all part of the mix. There are several tools available to farmers to address the production risk. One of the oldest is enterprise diversification as it combines different production processes. Diversifying income sources, such as expanding the crop mix can be a tool to address income variability. However, the challenges to diversification can be time, cost and the skill sets needed to manage the diversity in the farm.

Corporate hackers target weak link: The supply chainNewsfactorThe cyber thieves who hit Target Corp. took advantage of a widespread and often overlooked weakness in corporate information security Relevant Products/Services: Third-party computer connections that can create a virtual back door to customer Relevant Products/Services information. Digital links with suppliers, contractors or consultants are essential to run a complex business Relevant Products/Services in the Internet age. Yet, even as companies spend millions to bolster the security of their networks, the access vendors are given doesn't get nearly enough attention, several information security professionals say.

Taking relationship issues head on at the workplaceGulf NewsIt is often said that we cannot choose our family and, therefore, need to learn how to manage our relationships with them — and the same applies to those at work. If a particular individual is not to our personal liking — for any reason — then because we do not have the luxury of walking away, we need to find a basis upon which to communicate. We all have a job to do and we need to be able to communicate well with everyone in our team.

Emerging-market funds outflow surpass total 2013 salesBloombergLess than two months into 2014, global investors pulled more money out of emerging-market stock and bond funds than the total amount they retracted last year. Investors withdrew $4.5 billion from funds in the week through Feb. 12, extending the total outflow this year to $29.7 billion, according to Barclays Plc, which cited data provider EPFR Global. In 2013, a total of $29.2 billion left funds investing in emerging-market assets.

Harassment laws, cyberattacks, social media throw up new challengesThe Times of IndiaFor the corporate risk manager, the changing workplace has brought to the fore fresh challenges. More than worries about fire, floods of theft, for which insurance is available across the counter, concerns now are over litigious employees, cyberattacks putting the network at risk and business reputation being battered on social networks.

2014 catastrophe bond maturities by peril and expected lossArtemisWith over $4.2 billion of outstanding catastrophe bonds scheduled to mature in 2014, the insurance-linked securities and cat bond primary issuance market will have opportunities to entice sponsors to re-issue their risks in new transactions in 2014. This year sees one of the highest totals for maturing cat bonds in the markets history. 2013 saw $3.8 billion or so of maturing cat bonds, which was easily outpaced by new issuance of $7.64 billion, so it is likely that 2014 issuance will easily beat the $4.2 billion or so of maturations, enabling the market to grow in outright size again by the end of this year.

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4 tips for managing catastrophic riskCNBCCompanies are increasingly realizing that they need to have proactive plans for dealing with natural and man-made disasters, and not just react to them — or worse, assume that extreme events "won't happen to us."

CVS's lesson: Carpe diemHarvard Business ReviewCVS is now one of a small group of companies that have realized that their reputation is the most valuable asset they have and that building a stronger reputation by avoiding risks to that reputation can create a significant competitive advantage.

State of green business: Water rises as a risk factorGreenBizFor some companies, water is becoming a chokepoint — a commodity without which operations are curtailed, or even stopped altogether. In many cases, water shortages upstream in a supply chain can wreak havoc.

An algorithm for crisis managementPRWeekOne of the most common challenges communications executives face during times of crisis is when and how to calibrate the proper corporate response. At its most basic, the conundrum is often this: Does engaging early increase the likelihood of greater media interest and reputation damage than would otherwise be realized? At a more advanced level, the dilemma is determining how real-time judgments are made beyond the informal collection of data points and marketplace anecdotes.

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Digital-age dilemma: Handling employees who misbehave in emailsHR MorningWe've all been there — in the heat of the moment you fire off an email that you wish you'd never sent. And there's no denying that email tends to be a pretty informal communications medium. Behind the cloak of the keyboard some people feel emblazoned to say things they wouldn't consider saying face to face. Plus, it's often difficult to discern tone in an email, so even a message not intended to be flip or insubordinate can come off that way. So there's a lot of gray areas where email's concerned. But that doesn’t give employees license to behave badly.

10 warning signs of workers' compensation fraudBusinessNewsDailyNearly every state requires businesses to provide workers' compensation insurance in the event that an employee is injured on the job. As with most mandatory legal requirements, there are always going to be individuals who try to get around this and cheat the system. Both businesses and employees can become involved in the serious issue of workers' compensation fraud. "Not only is workers' compensation fraud illegal, it can strain operations as well as lead to higher insurance-related costs for honest businesses," said Ranney Pageler, vice president of the fraud investigations department for business insurance carrier Employers.